What does it take to bring a challenger brand into an established retail category and more importantly, get customers to notice it on the shelf?

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break, I’m joined by Kate Doyle, founder of EcoKinly, an Irish brand bringing reusable alternatives to the baby and family care market. After almost four years of building the business direct-to-consumer, Kate is now taking EcoKinly into retail, scaling across supermarkets, pharmacies, baby retail and leisure.

Kate shares her journey from financial services and entrepreneurship into the world of retail, and what she’s learning as a founder navigating buyers, listings, logistics and the all-important challenge of driving customer pull-through once a product reaches the shelf.

During our conversation, we explore:

• Finding the gap on the retail shelf
• Educating store teams to drive sales
• The power of packaging, POS and FSDUs
• Moving from getting listed to scaling
• Building brand recognition and trust
• Learning by listening to customers face-to-face
• The Pregnancy and Baby Fair in Dublin

We also look to the future of retail, including the opportunities around reusable and refillable products, the potential impact of AI on consumer decision-making, and what’s next for EcoKinly as the brand continues to grow.

This episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is supported by International Retail magazine, check out the latest edition here: International Retail Magazine!!! The Retail Insiders Guide

EcoKinly: EcoKinly Award Winning Irish Brand | Designed for life. Made to last.